The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1887-01-12

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around, and not finding a sprig of cat
nip in the garden followed up the
scent and struck the trail. But when
he came to the. corral he was rather
suspicious, for everything about it was
new and the ground was covered with
fresh chips. There was plenty of cat
nip within; he could see that, and he
could find it nowhere else; and, after
many feints, he entered stealthily,
touched the spring as he pushed on,
and in moment was secured.
But the catching of the tiger was
nothing compared to the labor and
anxiety attending getting him into a
cage (Which had to be made) and send
ing him to market. Meanwhile he had
to be fed, which duty was assigned to
one of the negroes, who secured the
country for kids, shotes and jack-rab-
bits; for he had no weapon with which
to secure large game. The cage, rude
beyond description, was bated with a
shote and backed up to the trap, which
was lifted just high enough for the
tiger (hungry from fasting) to rush in
and pounce on the porker; when the
door, with a slam, dropped into its
place.
Nothing could be finer, and the cap
tain of a canoe, manned with forty
paddles, agreed to take the tiger,
with the necessary provision, to Why
dab, for consideration. There a
trader consigned the tiger to house in
London, the widow paying freight, for
the mate was "broke " When the
Tropic Bird went over. The consign-
ment reached London safely, the tiger,
an exceptionally fine one, founda ready
market, and the consignee, in remit
ting the proceeds, solicited other like
consignments. To meet the difficulty
of providing cages, he agreed to keep
cages, Manchester make, in stock at
Whydah. This was pleasant news, and,
when received at Wari, the mate and the
widow who had become attachedto each
other and were only waiting for mis-
sionary to turn up and splice them, con-
cluded to push the business and make
regular shipments of tigers.
From that time all went well till the
business attracted the attention of
Ahgrimy, King of Dahomey, who or
dered Kankore, the petty king who
ruled in the Wari district, to bring the
mate to his country seat, which was
not far from Abomey, the capital.
This was startling, but there was no
help for it, and, with heavy heart, the
mate left the widow and started on
the journey. He and Kankore travelled
towards Abomey as rapidly as circum-
stances would admit, receiving many
attentions on the way, which Kankore
appropriated to himself, till they drew
near to their journeys end, when he
evidently wished that it was over. AT
Alladda, their first post, they were met
by a delegation headed by Bullbill, the
chief Of that section, who sought to do
honor to the mate and show proper re-
spect for kankore. AT Whyboo, the
next station, they were invited to a
barbecue--a pig roasted under a gum
tree, with side dishes of vans, shark s
steak Ga delicacy at that distance from
the COAST and toasted owls; the toast
ing being done by maidens whose at
tire was restricted almost exclusively
to parrot feathers. At Hocholla, the
last station before reaching Abomey,
they were treated to a war dance,
which was thought ominous by the
travellers, but they had but little time
for reflection, for they were hurried on
to Abomey, where they were made to
pass in and out of the six gates of the
capital, and then up to the, three pal
aces of the king, to see, possibly, their
high, red-clay walls, stuck over with
skulls and marrOw-bones.
AT last they reached the kings coun-
try seat, and found him on throne of
skulls; his prime minister, Mikenno,
standing on one side, and on the other
Chopum, the public executioner, with
his broad-axe over his shoulder. The
king frowned and scowled when the
party drew near, impatiently waved his
hand for the drums, horn blasts, COW
bells and yells to cease their noise,
took a swig of malofu, handed the
gourd back to the cup-bearer and stared
at the mate as though he would look
him out of countenance.
These preliminaries over, he told the
mate that he had sent for him to build
a corral and put it in working order, for
he, the king, intended to 60 into the
business of catching and shipping
tigers. This was unpleasant news to
Mikenno, the prime minister, who saw
that the catching of tigers so near the
capital would be attended with more or
less trouble to him, and he at once sug-
gested that it would take time to build
a corral, while the king, by confscating
the one at Wari, which had been run
without license, could have the adj
vantage of what had already been done
and at once derive revenue from the
enterprise. The king saw the point,
commended the wisdom of his servant,
ordered the mate and all who were
associated with him to quit the country
and appointed Stanbi a commissioner
TO go to WAR; and run the corral on the
kings account.
The mate, accompanied by Kankore
and Stanbi, started at once for the
coast; and when they reached Wari he
told the widow to pack their kit, while
he gave attention to pulling up and
roofing out every vestige of catnip-
clearing up, he said, which satisfied
Stanbi, so long as no injury was done
to the corral. 1t was with a heavy
heart that the widow at last turned
from the spot that had been so inter-
woven with her life, and, having
piueked few sprigs of ragged-sailor, a
bit of rocket, and a primrose or two,
with the mate she stepped on board
the canoe that was to take them to
Whydah, where their passage was en-
gagged on board "A vessel up for Barba-
does, for they wanted 60 be beyond the